Pacific Rim Sequel Already In The Works

Very few, if any at all, have managed to see Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim, his massive robots-versus-monsters blockbuster that will storm theaters next summer. But here’s how you know that it’s a guaranteed smash hit long before a full trailer even hits screens: producers are getting the ball rolling on a sequel.

Legendary has reportedly hired Travis Beacham to begin writing the screenplay for a Pacific Rim sequel, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Beacham wrote a spec script for Del Toro’s initial Rim, collaborating with the director on what has become a massive story about humanity using skyscraper-sized robots to beat back creatures that emerge from other worlds beneath the seas. The trade confirms that Del Toro plans to co-write the sequel, but has yet to sign on to direct it (and likely will have to pass because of the various additional projects he has on his radar).

This begs the question: Did Beacham have a continuation in mind when he pitched the first story? Has Del Toro built in an open-ended conclusion to his movie? Or will this chapter close, and we’ll kick-start another story if and when the sequel gets underway? (THR says that production could begin in January 2014). We already know that Del Toro had to bend on the 3D argument when it came to upfitting Pacific Rim before Legendary put it into theaters. At the very least, it shows that the studio has a ton of confidence in whatever footage Del Toro has shown them to date, and they think Rim is going to be a huge financial hit.

The movie is due in theaters on July 12, 2013. Do you think that this news is good news for the upcoming film?